Why is New Year’s Eve so special?

It is the last day of 2024, a day that will never be seen or experienced again for eternity. A sobering thought. In the ‘real world’ one day is no more or less significant than another. Every day has a sunrise and a sunset, but each day is also different in terms of weather, tides, animals that come into existence and go out of existence, plants that flower and go to seed, and so on.

Man imbues days with meaning that they do not possess naturally, except insofar as man is part of nature. We give days names and some days are more special than others – and are therefore given special names. They may celebrate the birth or death of a revered person, or a significant event in the past or anniversary in the future, or a particular day in a particular place that might be ideal to harvest a particular crop.

Today is New Year’s Eve, the last day of the current year. It introduces the idea of something coming to an end, albeit something unnatural and man-made. It is a figment of our imaginations but that, in my view, does not make it any less valid than a natural occurrence in time, such as sunset. Sunset happens whether or not man is here to witness it. When the last man or woman is gone New Year’s Eve will never happen again. But so long as mankind exists, New Year’s Day provides an idea of hope, a fresh start. Forget the old, let’s try something new. We can do better; we can be better. The only question is, will we?

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Newton Abbot, Devon, 31 December 2024, 10:01
10ºC, mostly cloudy, moderate breeze to light wind, light rain.